The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: The Arch That Is Not A Bridge

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

"I'm talking about how your back hurts when you take a big dump." Tony asks the question nobody else in the entire world is asking: could there be something there with Cam Ward? Learn more about yo...ur ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 All right, Smyranoff. Official vodka of the NFL, the world's number one vodka. Here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again. Smyranoff belongs in that mix because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smyrnaf. Otherwise, it's not a real game day.
Starting point is 00:00:24 They've been doing this since 1864, which is, I don't even want to do the math. A long time. They're award-winning. They make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So, yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should too. Grab a bottle of Smyranoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.
Starting point is 00:00:43 com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game date. Please drink responsibly. Smyranoff, number 21 vodka. Distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smearnov company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Boost Mobile is a legit nationwide network, so I have to take a break from the jokes here for one second
Starting point is 00:01:05 and put on my serious voice because I would never, ever joke about a nationwide network that has invested billions building towers across the country. Not even once I would. Not even if Mr. Boost Mobile himself asked me to. There's nothing funny about this. Boost Mobile is a legit nationwide network
Starting point is 00:01:19 and also provides coverage across 99% of America. Seriously, visit boostmobile.com or your nearest Boost Mobile store location to learn more. The Boost Mobile Network, together with our roaming partners covers 99% of the U.S. population. Now is a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Quervo.
Starting point is 00:01:42 What are you doing here? Quervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up. Well, I do know that to be true, but even during an ad reads, like... Quervo. I think you could lay out, especially from one of our great partners. Sweet, delicious quervo. Since then, Cuervo is stayed true to its roots.
Starting point is 00:01:56 The same family, the same land, the same passion. Quervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all. Quervo. Quirvo. The tequila that invented tequila. Broximo.com, please drink responsibly. Quervo.
Starting point is 00:02:09 This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugat's podcast. I'd like to talk with you guys a little bit about what is happening surrounding Adam Silver because you guys say don't follow the legend, Nick Saban. Don't follow the legend, Bill Belichick. And the way Adam Silver followed the legend, David Stern, was by being so bold or appearing so bold, I should say, appearing so bold. Because when he took the team from Donald Sterling, it was actually a very easy decision because all the other owners wanted him to do that because they hated Donald Sterling. Donald Sterling was an embarrassment to all the other owners for a long time. Except for more Cuban, funny enough.
Starting point is 00:02:55 And the position that Adam Silver now finds himself in is an interesting one because I thought, once upon a time, he was a progressive, modern leader who was younger than David Stern, who would be ally to the players, more gentle, wouldn't be iron-fisted dictator. You don't believe that anymore? Well, he's just gotten old, right? Adam Silver has aged during the tenure in a way that might make him make a few of the mistakes. that he made when he called it a highlight league. He's walked some of that back here recently because he had to. When you've signed this much in television contracts,
Starting point is 00:03:34 you cannot tell your television partners that it's a highlight league on the internet. Let's listen to Adam Silver walking some of that back before we get to some other Adam Silver comments because he's been caught off guard by Pablo Torre's reporting that is so thorough that it has showed that Adam Silver, benefited from a soft media for the last few years that he's smarter than usually in the way
Starting point is 00:04:02 that we cover some of these things. But he's been behind Pablo Torre. And Pablo Torre has made some of the things that he has said look bad with new information. But let's get some walking back here, some backpedaling on Adam Silver calling his league a highlight league. A portion of the question, the end of the question was about the impact of social media. That's what I was answering on our sport. And what I was saying in a very positive way, and I don't think it takes, I think it's additive to those who watch our games live and increase the likelihood that they'll watch our games live. By saying highlights-based, I meant, you know, when I watch the traditional sports center, you know, and they have the top 10 plays, and five of those are
Starting point is 00:04:45 NBA plays, I'm like, yeah, I'm not thinking like, oh, damn, like more highlights are being promoted from our league. I mean, I conventionally, the reaction that was like, that's really good. That, that, you know, it's a, it's a live game full of highlights. I mean, by definition, highlights aren't necessarily past tense. I mean, like when the NBA games are packed with action. And I guess it was misconstrued, but the point I was trying to make is that there is this community of social media followers, frankly globally estimated at over, at roughly around two and a half billion people connect with the NBA in some way. I think he's full of crap.
Starting point is 00:05:23 Like, I think he's full of crap because he says there that, oh, you know, if you remember what the question was, I was answering about social media. I have the question. You want to hear what the question was? This was back after the owner's meeting, which is what, like a week and a half, two weeks ago. The actual question was, it's becoming very expensive to watch the NBA as a fan, not just to go to games, but also in order to, there's different streaming services.
Starting point is 00:05:47 you have to subscribe to. Some of the RSNs are expensive. I know there are points of entry for fans to interact with the NBA. There's social media, a lot of younger fans. That is how they're experiencing the sport. But I wonder how much you think about that and how that will shape the next generation of fans. That's a question about cost.
Starting point is 00:06:04 Like, he's full of crap. Not the only time that he's full of crap, because let's go to the original sound that Adam Silver gave us before Pablo Torre's additional reporting that made all of this sound very foolish. The podcast came out. It was news to me. I'd frankly never heard of the company aspiration before, and I'd never heard a whiff of anything around an endorsement deal with Kauai or anything around engagement with the Los Angeles Clippers. So it was all new to me. And that didn't seem right at the time, and it proved to not be right when
Starting point is 00:06:44 Pablo Tori reported what he did. And so this is what Adam Silver had to say after that. He has said that. You have said you hadn't heard of aspiration before. But a $300 million deal with the team, you know, the team was going to be like a jersey patch sponsor. They had aspiration on the back of the court side seats. I think Pablo... Just to be clear, I'm not sure if I said I never... If I said I never heard of it, I meant in the context of the accusations here. I mean, I certainly was aware of the brand, but I didn't know anything about...
Starting point is 00:07:10 Got it. Yes, because I think just earlier today, Pablo tweeted, He said that because it was a $300 million deal, it was a founding sponsorship agreement. And those, as I would expect, have to be approved at the league level. Why is he lying? I mean, like, you can't be any clearer than, quote, I've never heard of the company aspiration. Why is he lying?
Starting point is 00:07:33 Because the truth makes everybody look really terrible. The truth, uh, why is, allegedly, why is everyone lie? Because the truth is, this is, and I know this is, And I know this is complicated thicket of information because it is rare in my lifetime to see a journalist put in the work in sports that would come close to a smoking gun on things the seventh richest person in the world is trying to hide. Usually we can't get close to those things. The corridors of power in sports and around money in general make it that there is just these giant gulfs between. the people who are running sports and the people covering sports and we're not actually allowed near many of the guard gates never mind through them so pablo tory's reporting on this if it is
Starting point is 00:08:25 factual that balmer put in tens of millions of dollars should make this one of the biggest sports scandals that we've seen in a decade and the biggest one in that sport non-crime division non and there is the accusations here are not crimes around the big asterisk non-crime division because there have been a lot of gambling scandals in the NBA
Starting point is 00:08:52 like just these past two years well you tell me Sterling was pretty big let let let yes it was I think that was over a decade ago though at this point Donagie Sterling was pretty big and I would say that
Starting point is 00:09:04 it was pretty big because of what the commissioner did if the commissioner did the same thing here this one would be as big. It doesn't have the racial elements, but it would be as big if they got rid of the owner, which they're not going to do. I'm glad that you mentioned Sterling, because Silver came out of the gates, getting a lot of credit for his handling of Donald Sterling, and being more progressive than any of the other commissioners when he came to gambling. But in retrospect, that seemed like we were moving in that direction either way. So it got a lot with, he bought a lot with how he
Starting point is 00:09:32 handled Donald Sterling. Do you remember how poorly he handled Robert Sarver? And what the initial punishment was, which was just a year-long suspension. While Chris Paul and LeBron James came out and heavily criticized what went on with Robert Sarver and how it was allowed to do. You remember what pushed Bud Sealy out? It feels like maybe I'm remembering this wrong, but people weren't happy with that all-star game fiasco. The NBA has got its own all-star game fiasco. In fact, the NBA has bigger problems right now, style of play, ratings way down, load management. These are all things that happen on Adam Sover's watch. This is his NBA. This is his MBA. And now you add the Kauai thing to this. Let's not forget the
Starting point is 00:10:13 Daryl Morey China thing. There have been a lot of bad things that have happened to this man's resume when just a few years ago along the time of Bray Rice, he would have argued easily. Roger Goodell is the worst commissioner in sports and Adam Silver is the best. Shoes on the other foot. You're right. Roger Goodell is wholly turned that thing around. I mean, unless they find actual federal crimes or whatever that have been committed in this, the story's like, In terms of how it's affected the league, it's largely insignificant, right? Like, you have a guy who refuses to play a lot of the time who went to a team where he didn't really impact anything. They didn't win a championship or anything, and they circumvented a salary cap and, again, didn't really impact any of the results.
Starting point is 00:10:55 Well, it's up to the owners, right? Yeah, but I'm saying, like, big picture, it's not like, oh, now we need to strip a team of a title, this is the integrity of the game. Like, it hasn't really impacted results very much. Right, like, if they won a title, if they had any kind of actual success, I suppose there'd be a bigger outcry. I think it depends on what the penalty is, guys. We don't think there's going to be a big penalty is what we're saying. That's a big problem.
Starting point is 00:11:17 Okay, and maybe there won't be... Maybe there won't be a big penalty. I don't know that we can comment on this intelligently, though, until we see what all the reporting is and what the penalty is because the Donald Sterling story was obviously a salacious, scandalous story because we had audio of racism at a time. Think of the time period this was. Like, race as subject matter was something that it mushroom clouded
Starting point is 00:11:45 for reasons that have been happening in this country for the last 10 years at that time. And so you had the scandal there. But what made it the story that it became is, holy shit, a commissioner just came down and took somebody's team. Like, it was the penalty that made it mushroom into the larger store. story. When you guys talk about a commissioner doing a good job or not, what's the job? Because Goodell was seen as a clown, but was making money for the league. And Adam Silver, while not a clown, Adam Silver found a revenue source in streaming that didn't exist before. And the
Starting point is 00:12:22 consequences, if not for streaming, maybe all those things you just mentioned would have actually hurt the dollars because fewer people were watching. But it doesn't matter. The teams are worth more than they've ever been, and the money is rolling in at an unprecedented number. I don't think you can give them credit for finding streaming when I think they're last to the streaming rights fees. Now, streaming platforms have evolved and have increased resources and a higher priority on getting live sports rights, but the NFL was talking to the streamers well before, and they had their deal with Prime and Netflix.
Starting point is 00:12:56 The NHL, like, their basically league pass package, went to ESPN, MLB had Roku and 2B. Yeah, we're doing the streaming thing again. They had exclusive, so I don't know how much credit you can give Adam Silver for finding this. But to your point, the saving grace for Roger Goodell, when he was in the middle of the Ray Rice stuff, and it legitimately felt like he was going to get fired, was he kept raising the watermark in terms of rights and what the league was generating, and Adam Silver's done that. I'm not giving Adam Silver credit for discovering streaming.
Starting point is 00:13:31 simply saying that by happenstance, an amount of money has appeared out of nowhere that makes it so that those owners are probably happy with the job Adam Silver is doing because I will ask you guys again, what is the commissioner's primary job? Because I think we think of it as protect the league, protect the optics, protect the future of the league. And I think the owners say, no, how much cash are you making me right now? That's the number one job of Adam Silver. No, you're right. I think the average sports fan thinks the commissioner's job is to be in charge of the league, to be like, the law and order of the league and be in charge and making sure everything is fair and just. But in pro sports, it's literally the job of the commissioner just to make
Starting point is 00:14:13 the owners. A few sports a decade ago were better positioned for global domination like the NBA. And that stuff is cool. They've been slow on this expansion to Europe. I don't know if the same energy, because of the things that I outlined, style of play, load management. You don't know if you buy a ticket. You're going to see the stars playing. These are all newer things that have happened on Adam Silver's watch that David Stern, say what you will about the man. I don't think he was the best. He would not let this stuff happen when he came to I buy a ticket to set game. I don't see Start because of what? Because they're resting? He was that commissioner that I just described we wish or thought that commissioner is supposed to be the ones that
Starting point is 00:14:50 keep the league in order and make sure that everything is on the up. Popovich, I remember where that started. Popovich in Miami. Yeah. Let his starters stay in San Antonio. Antonio and David Stern thundered in and corrected that. But this is an important distinction you guys are making between how it is that these leagues are led because I would say that soon after on a commissioner's job, very soon after, on the priority list of make owners money. And David Stern did this very differently, and this has happened quietly under Adam Silver. The owners didn't feel like they were David Stern's boss.
Starting point is 00:15:24 They are Adam Silver's boss. And the job of Adam Silver beyond making money is to be the protective buffer. all Goodell did at the beginning when there was chaos around him. Hey, make sure this shit doesn't get near Jerry Richardson. Make sure that none of this shit gets close to the money. Just take the hit as the leader of the league so that we're not yelling about any of the owners. Be the protective buffer on this. But here he's compromised because this is an owner everyone loves and this is an owner who is very much Adam Silver's boss. Like when Steve Balmer returns Silver's calls a little more slowly than Silver returns
Starting point is 00:16:02 Balmer's calls. That's the way that relationship works. The money is the power there, and part of the job is protect the owners from being seen as all of this. Protect all of the owners from being covered in the garbage. You take the hit on it. I mean, it's very
Starting point is 00:16:18 clear that Adam Silver is trailing on this story. His answers on it have been bad. When Deflake Gate is happening, or when the Stephen Ross tampering stuff is happening, Roger Goodell kind of sprang in action. You announce, like, this investigation panel, and I know that Adam Silver has done that, even though there's ambiguity surrounding that. But he wasn't, he wasn't saying quotes that made
Starting point is 00:16:38 things worse. It's a challenge for him to navigate, and I don't think he's navigating it well. This episode is supported by FX's The Lowdown, starring Ethan Hawk. Allow us to introduce you to Lee Raybon, a quirky journalist slash rare bookstore owner slash unofficial truth seeker, who's always on the tale of his latest conspiracy. This time, his most recent expose puts him head to head with a powerful family that rules Tulsa, meaning only one thing. He must be onto something big.
Starting point is 00:17:12 FX's The Lowdown, premieres September 23rd on FX. Stream on Hulu. With Amex Platinum, access to exclusive Amex pre-sale tickets can score you a spot trackside, so being a fan for life turns into the trip of a lifetime. That's the powerful backing. of Amex. Pre-sale tickets for future events
Starting point is 00:17:30 subject to availability and vary by race. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at mx.ca. slash Y Annex. The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is an eight-episode Hulu original limited series
Starting point is 00:17:41 that blends gripping pacing with emotional complexity, offering a dramatized look as it revisits the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox for the tragic murder of Meredith Kurcher and the relentless media storm that followed. The twisted tale of Amanda Knox.
Starting point is 00:17:58 is now streaming only on Disney Plus. Don Lebatard. To us, residents. Oh, wow. That's pretty good. It's in there. Better. I think I haven't been practicing?
Starting point is 00:18:09 Stugats. Oh, oh. I didn't realize we had a substitute complicated legacy. Brought to by headquarters, Toyota, huh? 441 and Powerline Road. Second out of nine. This is the Dan Lebatar show with the Stugats. When you say Zanzlowe that Adam Silver is full of crap, aren't we all, like actually, literally, aren't we all full of crap?
Starting point is 00:18:40 You're talking about the GI track, yes. I'm talking about how your back hurts when you take a big dump. What? That's never happened to me, unlike that caller. I did like his accent, though. I got to tell you, I do love that segment, pull this take. He's growing on me. Tony has football observations that he has not made this week,
Starting point is 00:18:58 and he is somewhere outside. It is raining outside. And I don't know exactly where he is, because I can't see him at this precise moment, but I suspect there he is. I see him on the preview, and soon, look at that. Look at that landscape. That looks fake behind Tony.
Starting point is 00:19:15 That is freedom behind him over his right shoulder. He has freedom, the freedom tower over his left shoulder. What do we do with that freedom? We waste it. We waste 800. million dollars on that thing over there over that arch that's not a bridge that is just a useless built thing that is making downtown traffic just awful in Miami. No reason for that. That is just wasteful spending. Downtown Miami is filled with construction because we can only
Starting point is 00:19:42 build up. What is that thing behind Tony? It is a giant waste of money. I don't understand why that's there. Don't forget the flooding. Oh, and it floods right under there. Yes. That thing is edging right now. That would be a useful bridge if, you know, 10 years from now, all of South Florida is underwater and that's how we were traveling that high up, but it's not a bridge. Is it? It's going to be a bridge. Is it? Are we sure? You sure it's not just a visual arch? Are you positive? It's definitely not going to be a bridge. It's called the downtown Miami Arch Bridge. Yeah, but is it a functional bridge or is it just when they build the road under it? Like the Golden Gate Bridge didn't, you didn't just snap your finger and then all of a sudden
Starting point is 00:20:21 there's a bridge there. You have to build the different portions of the bridge. So that's what they're going for. Right. I'm not sure this is structural, though, as a part of the whole bridge thing. I think this is mainly aesthetics, right? This is for a Tom Cruise movie where he's going to, like, jump across something. Yeah, we've got two people full of shit right now, Adam Silver and Billy.
Starting point is 00:20:37 That's on a bridge. I mean, it's going to be a bridge. It's going to be the arches over a bridge. It's whatever you guys want it to be. No, I'm trying to back you up here, Billy. I think, but right now, like, it is going to be a bridge, but is this part of like the structure, or is this just aesthetic? This is part of the thing that'll make you say, oh, that's a cool looking bridge.
Starting point is 00:20:54 Look, it has this over it. Right. We've got this just for Tony's segment. When this is done 25 years from now, you're going to love it and call it a bridge. So you're assuming South Florida is going to be here in 25 years from now, that thing will be done, I think. Okay. Hello, Tony. I would say South Florida might be done in 25 years.
Starting point is 00:21:11 At Levitart Show, put it on the poll. More likely to be finished in 25 years, that bridge or South Florida. Tony, so you are on what floor right now? of the lovely and extravagant and luxurious Elser. Dan, we're on the 13th floor, I believe. It just says pool, so I don't know they don't have the floor exactly. We have a 13th floor. I thought most places tried to not have 13 floors.
Starting point is 00:21:37 The floor still exists, though. They just don't call it that. That always confuses me because we don't want to label it 13, but then I'm not stupid. I know that the floor then that's labeled 14. You know where you really are. It's actually 13, so how do we handle that? Hotels should just have a blank, empty space.
Starting point is 00:21:53 Yeah. How does that work? Well, we've got pool and fitness. What percentage? That's the floor we're on. Pool and fitness. Imagine what percentage of hotels actually label it 13 and then don't label it 13 simply because it's unlucky, because it's totally
Starting point is 00:22:09 inconsistent, right? Do you think the majority of hotels will have 13 as the number or won't have 13 as the number? I usually see in an elevator it skipped, 12, 14. and it's wild. Everyone knows where you really are. Juju, put it on the poll, please, at Lebitard show. Most hotels, do they have a number 13 on the 13th floor or not? Tony, do you have OILs? What are these? Just NFL observations? Well, we got every week, Dan, on my top five observations from the week,
Starting point is 00:22:40 and usually we do have some OILI. I've got two OILIs for this week. A lot of football played, and I had a lot of observations for football being played. So you want to start in the OLA? Atlanta going to surprise a lot of people this year defense playing tough offense looking good Bijon Robinson looking good I like what Atlanta's doing Dana
Starting point is 00:23:01 what do you think about Atlanta offense doesn't look that great to me and I believe that what happened in Minnesota is Minnesota's got a quarterback problem and I don't believe that that was because Atlanta's offense looks that good but we'll see that's why the COLI just a little appetizing
Starting point is 00:23:19 to get the conversation going. And Tony Falcons, Twitter hates Zach Robinson. Zach Robinson is getting so much crap online. They hate that offense right now. Second OLLI, is it too early to call Brandon Aubrey the best kicker of all time? Put it on the poll, please.
Starting point is 00:23:38 At Labitard Show, Juju, is it too early to call Brandon Aubrey the best kicker of all time? But it's Justin Tucker, clearly. We talked about Justin Tucker earlier. It's anyone to be desperate enough to sign him? We failed to mention he's suspended the first 10 games of the season. However, week 11, people start getting desperate. How long does Brandon Aubrey have to keep this up to be the best kicker of all time?
Starting point is 00:24:05 A couple of years. Ten more years, I think. Ten more years. Ten more than just a few games. At least a few more games. Ten years and ten years of making everything. And then falling off for his last season and he can be in that conversation. I'm not going to do this where we forget
Starting point is 00:24:20 how incredible Justin Tucker was or Sebastian Janakowski Seabass Smoking a cigarette on the sidelines I love that All right starting off at number five Mike stand up Cam Ward showing flashes
Starting point is 00:24:33 There's something there with Cam Ward and I don't love the 37 yard throw across his body Yeah number one pick I don't love the 37 yard throw across his body from the six yard line which is a terrible throw
Starting point is 00:24:47 somehow or another across his body away from kind of like a fadeaway throw and he still gets it there there's flashes there Dano you're not allowed to claim you're seeing things other people don't see when it's a number one overall pick could be something there
Starting point is 00:25:01 hmm yeah but he yeah but again there's been a lot of number one picks as of recent that haven't been good you called number one picks ass you can't last segment did you forget that I'm not gonna let you do this you're not allowed to take credit for thinking you called Trevor Lawrence ass yeah he's ass No, I didn't say Cam War, but be good.
Starting point is 00:25:19 Okay. All right. Okay. Number four. Panic meter at five right now for Chicago. My internal panic meters at five. What number does it go up to? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:30 It goes up to eight. It goes up to ten. So right now I'm like halfway a little worried about what's going on in Chicago. I don't know if Caleb Williams is the answer, guys. I'm a little worried about it, if you want me to be honest. The body language isn't great. There's plays that he makes that are just like, what are you doing? kind of like the Trevor Lawrence situation is like
Starting point is 00:25:48 you always try to find a way to lose the game somehow. Caleb Willis, even though he makes great plays, make some really stupid plays. I'm just like, I'm a little bit worried about the situation over there. Dan, what's your panic meter at for Chicago? Oh, this is good. I want to know this. Out of 10, Dan. Eight? Wow. You're out of 10. Wow.
Starting point is 00:26:07 Over two games, you're at an eight already? I mean, it's not two games. It's two seasons. It's not two games. I made Tony go. But it's two seasons, and if they wanted Caleb Williams to be the solution, they need to not allow 50 points against the Lions. Good point. But it's only two games in of Ben Johnson, right? I feel like I almost trust Ben Johnson more than I do Caleb Williams trying to get things back on track. He made Jared Goffin a $200 million quarterback.
Starting point is 00:26:36 So that's why I have it out of five right now, because Ben Johnson, I still trust him enough to maybe dial things in for Caleb Williams. Number three, a lot of questions here on the Tony South Five. Number three, is it time to have a conversation about Joe Burrow? Time to have a conversation about Joe Burrow. He gets hit a lot more. He gets hit a lot more than any other quarterback. It made Andrew Luck retire. Andrew Luck was retired.
Starting point is 00:27:02 Andrew Luck was sacked 50 times fewer during this portion of their careers than Joe Burrow. He's getting hit way too much. Out of six seasons, three of them could be potentially. season ending with injuries. So 50% clip of being healthy is not good. I feel like there's a conversation that needs to be had. I don't know if I'm the one to have it.
Starting point is 00:27:24 I just feel like somebody maybe needs to have it. So just wanted to put that out there for others. Thank you. All right. Number two. Yeah. Just food for thought. That's what I do here.
Starting point is 00:27:34 Food for thought. Something going on in L.A. Rams and chargers are tough. Dan, you said it. Rams are built. Ram tough. But the chargers also seem to be kicking ass. The two LA teams that nobody in LA cares about, Dan, you spent a lot of time in L.A.
Starting point is 00:27:48 You were on the beat for the charges a couple of years ago. I remember, you were talking to Sedano, I think. What is the vibe right now in L.A., where all of a sudden, your teams are good. Dan, your second home in L.A., what do you think? Zaslo says that Jim Harbaugh is an all-time great as a coach. Yeah, it's true. Why would I not say so much true? Their defense, their defense, no one can throw downfield on them through two games.
Starting point is 00:28:12 Like you have to dump because they're corners and their secondaries too good. And what about the Rams? Ram tough. The Rams are going to be that for as long as Stafford's there. I'm going, look, man, Stafford in the playoffs is the guy who beat Brady. Stafford is the one who made the throw to Cup to be.
Starting point is 00:28:32 No one. Mahomes couldn't be Brady at home. Rogers couldn't be Brady at home. But Stafford went on the road. Went to Brady. Went to Brady and beat Brady. The grizzled vet, Matthew Stafford. So, yeah, L.A. is going to be a tough out for a lot of teams.
Starting point is 00:28:49 What if we have, ooh, this is devious, what if we have the first L.A. L.A. Super Bowl. Chargers on one side, Rams on the other side, and nobody in L.A. gives a shit. Wow. Can't wait to hear me talk about that. Can you imagine? Yeah, well, you heard it here first in week two, L.A. Super Bowl. All right, getting back to number one. It was a joke at first
Starting point is 00:29:13 But after 10 scoring drives with zero punts And a 2-0 record beating a tough Broncos team Guys, Danny Dimes Putting in position for an MVP run I don't know what to tell you guys All I'm saying is he's playing the best footballs of entire life Shane Steichen and them boys Playing some tough football
Starting point is 00:29:32 Danny Dimes right now, if you look at certain books Plus 7,500 to be the MVP Put a couple quid on that I've already got some locked in I'm very excited for the Danny Dimes train. Dan, how long do you have to see it for it to be real? Two games not enough, of course. What's the week where you're like, all right, it's for real?
Starting point is 00:29:52 10, 11, 12? I'm going to stop you real quick because I don't think anybody would be saying this right now if a Bronco hadn't jumped off sides at the end of that game and the courts were just one and one. Okay. Okay, well, sure. But that's not the point where we're at, right? It's the point he's at 2 and 0.
Starting point is 00:30:09 He hasn't punted yet. Right. I will not believe Daniel Jones is an MVP until seven or eight seasons after he's won the MVP. Tony, thank you for being, thank you for joining us from a freedom, a space of freedom. We appreciate it. Tony's top five is presented by Smyranoff, the official vodka sponsor of the National Football League. Smyranoff, please drink responsibly. The Smyranoff Company, New York, New York, Vaca, 40% alcohol by volume. During the Volvo Fall Experience event,
Starting point is 00:30:41 discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, lease a 26 XE90 plug-in hybrid from $599 bi-weekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Condition supply, visit your local Volvo retailer
Starting point is 00:31:06 retailer, or go to explorevolvo.com. Oh, this is it, the day you finally ask for that big promotion. You're in front of your mirror with your Starbucks coffee. Be confident. Assertive. Remember eye contact. But also, remember to blink. Smile, but not too much. That's weird. What if you aren't any good at your job? What if they dim out you instead? Okay, don't be silly. You're smart. You're driven. You're going to be late if you keep talking to the mirror. This promotion is yours. get him. Starbucks. It's never just coffee. Summer's here, and you can now get almost anything you need
Starting point is 00:31:41 for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well-groom lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no, but a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan, sorry, nope. But a box fan, happily yes. A day of sunshine, no. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. product availability may vary by Regency app for details. Don Lebertard. No one else here is willing to do a Trump or a Biden.
Starting point is 00:32:13 That's not true, Dan. Okay, Tony, you can catch... Man of a thousand impersonations. That's not bad, man. Finally. Not terrible. Pretty good. Stugats.
Starting point is 00:32:26 Yours is terrible. You just got to get a little redder, a little pinker. You're right there, man. Yours is not. You're Biden. What do you mean? Oh, this is good, Dan. It's actually not bad.
Starting point is 00:32:37 Not terrible. That's not terrible. We gotta come together. A little southern twinge there. A little George Bush in that one. This is the Dan Lebatar show with the Stugats. I'm not pushing it. I'll push it. I got it.
Starting point is 00:33:07 But I'm just laughing at your reading. I'm just laughing at your reading in general. Oh, he stumbled over a word. I wish you guys could have like the director's cut of Chris Cody cursing. I see you shouting F bombs when you read. Today is the 30th birthday for Patrick Mahal. Happy birthday to him. I don't care.
Starting point is 00:33:31 Good luck. I should also mention that he has the most teeth. Hee passes, wins, playoff wins, and is tied for the most Super Bowl wins before turning 30. It's a good career before it ended this season. Pretty impressive. I don't think he's going to age like Brady, though. Is he a Hall of Fame already? Yes.
Starting point is 00:33:48 Oh, okay. You guys are doing a funny thing, though, because when Patrick Mahomes lost to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, and it was obvious, oh, look, his offensive linemen, they're all out. And now he's got to run loop-de-loops in circles because they're going to get crushed because he doesn't have all of his players. that was something that Patrick Mahomes, rightly, shouldn't have been blamed for that game. What Patrick Mahomes is enduring right now is very nice, Mike, that you all defend him when he's responsible for all the winning, but isn't responsible for any of the losing. That's a good position to be in.
Starting point is 00:34:29 That's right. And he's earned it. I'm sorry, why are we doing this? If there's one dude that's deserved, like, hey, hold on. not write this dude off. And I know maybe you were feeling a little cocky because he was so right about writing off Tom Brady seven years before he retired. But Patrick Mahomes deserves a level of. How about you not do the absolutism? I'm not writing him off. I'm simply saying that what they were at offense, the pleasure they were, bringing us out of the Brock Osweiler age of everyone's throwing five-yard slants and outs, and that's how we're doing it. The whole
Starting point is 00:34:59 league is plagued by it right now. Every quarterback in the league is afraid to throw the ball downfield. I just watched a Monday night game where Gino Smith was more incompetent down the field than a quarterback has ever been. He had a dozen throws down the field more than 10 yards. Two of them were intercepted. All of the others were incomplete. That doesn't mean he was afraid to throw it down the field.
Starting point is 00:35:17 I'm not saying Mahomes is afraid to throw it down the field. I'm just saying he's not throwing it down the field. He did it once. He did it twice in the last game. Missed a nobody receiver. Obviously a nobody receiver. Missed him down the field by 10 yards. I know he wants to do it.
Starting point is 00:35:33 But what I'm saying is there are limitations that are keeping him from being able to do it. And I agree. And the limitations are his two receivers being out. Rishi Rice has basically been out two seasons at this point. It's a weird way to celebrate his birthday. It is weird. And happy birthday to him. I don't care.
Starting point is 00:35:53 Good luck. Now is a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Quervo. What are you doing here? Quervo. Anytime someone says Quervo, I show up. Well, I do know that to be true, but even during an ad, reads, like... Quervo.
Starting point is 00:36:10 I think he could lay out, especially from one of our great partners. Sweet, delicious, quervo. Since then, Quervo is stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion. Quervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all. Quervo. Quervo.
Starting point is 00:36:24 The tequila, that invented tequila. Broximo.com.com, please drink responsibly. Quervo.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.